Recruiting Help: 6 Tips to Help Your College Recruiting Process

For many high school students, the college process is exactly that: a process. Finding one school amongst the thousands that you are comfortable calling home can be overwhelming. For those aspiring to play a sport in college, the process becomes even more chaotic. When it comes to the recruiting process, everyone can use a little advice. That being said, here our six tips that can help you manage the college recruiting process.

Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse
Before you go any further in your recruiting process, make sure you are registered with the NCAA clearinghouse. The clearinghouse ensures that student-athletes have met the proper academic requirements to play at the highest level of college basketball. In order to be eligible to play college basketball, you must be registered with the clearinghouse. This is a key piece to playing basketball at the next level and many young players have never even heard of it! Do not let such a simple task keep you from accomplishing your dream. Register for the NCAA clearinghouse now!

Create a List
After you have deemed yourself eligible through the clearinghouse, it is now time to start considering schools. There are so many schools out there, it is important to organize the ones you are interested in. An easy way to do this is to make a list and place schools into three different categories: dream schools, practical schools and fall back schools. Dream schools are your ‘number ones’, the places you would go to in an instant. Practical schools are places that you are confident you could get into academically, could play at and have interest in. Lastly, fall backs are the schools that you know you can get into and the coaching staff is very high on you. Sometimes the recruiting process can be so unpredictable, it is important to make sure you are prepared for anything.

Obtain Maximum Exposure
Being seen is crucial in your recruiting process. The more a college coach can watch you play, the better feel he will get for you as a player. That is why it is imperative to stay active year round. Many players play AAU and attend summer camps to be seen by coaches. While these are two great options, there is a lot more going on. Fall is a fantastic time to ride the momentum from summer and continue to be seen by coaches. There are a number of clinics and showcases happening during the autumn months that allow you to work on your game and get the exposure you are looking for. Do not think you cannot be seen just because summer is over!

AAU tournaments are a great way to get yourself seen, but not the only way. Camps and Clinics are also great ways to get yourself seen by coaches.

Perform in the Classroom
You probably hear it all the time: you are a student-athlete. Coaches, guidance counselors and parents all tell you that school comes before basketball, and they are not wrong. You can be the most talented player on the court, but if your grades do not match up in the classroom, you are raising a giant red flag to college coaches. They will stay away from you because they would rather look at a recruit who has shown he can balance his school work and basketball. That is why is critical that you take care of your school work now. Successfully balancing school work and basketball in high school will better prepare you for college and attract more coaches.

Create a Highlight/Send Game Film
Sometimes, no matter how many camps, clinics and tournaments you attend, the school you are interested in still may not see you. This is where game film and highlight tapes come in handy. Some people prefer to send 15-30 clips that display an athlete’s strengths as a player. Others prefer to send a whole game to provide coaches with a bigger sample. The choice is up to you. Whatever you choose however, make sure it is a clear, quality video that distinctly identifies you and your jersey number to coaches.

Talk to Coaches YOURSELF
The best thing you can do when communicating with a coach is talk to them yourself. Parents, guidance counselors and coaches can all be extremely beneficial in helping during the recruiting process, but they alone will not get you a scholarship. College coaches do not just recruit based on basketball ability, they all consider several X-factors. Your personality is one of those X-factors. They want to know who they are recruiting. The best way to show them is talking with them yourself. The more you interact with a coach, the more they learn about you as a person, not just an athlete, and the more comfortable you feel around them. It is a win-win for both sides.

The college process may take some work, but the satisfaction you receive when you find the perfect school is well worth it. With thousands of students transferring every year, it is important to be very thorough so that you end up at a place you are comfortable calling home over the next four years. Use these six tips to help take some of the stress that may come with the recruiting process off of your shoulders. Good luck!